


love is a flower you've got to let grow

by eugeneshelton



Category: The Pacific (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M, Post-Canon, Post-War, flowery (pun intended) comparisons, just our beloved marines being husbands, short and gay (like the author), this is what the kids call "tender"
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:01:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25268776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eugeneshelton/pseuds/eugeneshelton
Summary: written for sledgefu week 2020 (day 6: healing)under the right circumstances, even the most frail flower will thrive.
Relationships: Merriell "Snafu" Shelton/Eugene Sledge
Comments: 16
Kudos: 17
Collections: Sledgefu Week 2020





	love is a flower you've got to let grow

It’s been years since Okinawa, but Snafu’s still shirtless and covered in dirt. Except this time he’s Merriell, and he’s in love. He gives life space to flourish, and cares for every little petal in his garden.  
He’s always had a knack for gardening - it seemed to run in the family. His _maman_ had a garden right behind his childhood home. It was the tiniest sliver of Eden in Merriell’s life. His and Eugene’s garden is somewhat of an extension of that small patch of paradise, a tribute to his mother. She would have been so proud of her son’s work, he’s sure of it. Sometimes Sledge jokes that Merriell takes better care of the garden than he does of himself - and maybe that’s true. But Shelton still doesn’t care, his nonchalance being the one thing left behind after the war. He’s not as cynical now, not as bitter. He isn’t forced to kill anymore, and he revels in that, planting more and more flowers as the days pass.

Magnolias are in full bloom, and their delicate petals float in the gentle breeze. One of them falls right onto the nose of the young veteran sitting on the back porch, soft like his lover’s kiss.  
It’s been years since he rotated stateside, and yet Sledgehammer is still packing his pipe. Except he’s Eugene again, and he’s finally home. He picks a tiny, yellow flower and twirls it between his fingers. This time he’s not alone anymore, as the love of his life playfully scolds him for “ruining hours of his hard work”. Sledge replies with a smile, the same boyish grin he seemed to have lost in the blackened sands of the Pacific. There’s a gleam of hope in his deep brown eyes - a new one, a gift from his unexpected angel.

The Sun finally sets, basking the garden in a coral-pink glow. Eugene is still sat at the porch, Merriell by his side. Their hands are intertwined, Shelton’s head resting on his partner’s shoulder. Eugene tucks the daisy he picked earlier behind Merriell’s ear, feels him smile against his neck as he kisses his forehead. The blissful silence after years of ducking from whistling bullets is comforting, reassures them both that they’re safe. The warm, early spring evening seems to last forever, time dripping like molasses, heavy and sweet. This is Eugene’s heaven after four years of hell, Merriell’s childhood Eden coming back. They wouldn’t have it any other way. The love they have for each other is in full bloom now, after being confined into a delicate bud for so long. And they let it flourish, just as they do with their garden. This is love. This is victory.

They won their wars, and all is well.

**Author's Note:**

> in this house we let our boys HEAL and THRIVE!!!


End file.
